Friday, July 20, 2018

Carhartt cuts ties with Detroit Mercantile over spitting incident

Dearborn-based Carhartt has cut ties with Robert Stanzler's Detroit Mercantile following a Tuesday morning incident in which Stanzler spit in a young black man's face.

The workwear company confirmed on Friday morning in a statement to Metro Times that its products will no longer be sold at Detroit Mercantile.

"We expect our retailers to conduct themselves in accordance with our values, including respect for others," spokeswoman Erica Salomon wrote in an email. "Carhartt will not tolerate the offensive behavior recently demonstrated by the store’s owner. As a result, we have discontinued our relationship with the Detroit Mercantile."

Stanzler, the white owner of Detroit Mercantile, spit in Ibrahim Muhammad's face during a dispute over parking in Eastern Market. Muhammad's video of the incident went viral, receiving local and national media attention.

Muhammad's supporters have called for a boycott of Detroit Mercantile, and some in recent days have tagged Carhartt on social media, demanding that the company end its relationship with Stanzler.

Muhammad's supporters are also considering a protest of a biergarten Stanzler is launching this weekend on city-owned land in Eastern Market.

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